Founded in 2006, charity: water has utilized grassroots momentum to bring clean water to over 5 million people. What started as a personal endeavor by founder Scott Harrison to make a difference in the world, has turned into a movement among millennials to invest in bringing the basic need of clean water to millions around the world. Through word of mouth, and social media campaigns, charity: water raised $27.9 million in 2014 for clean water.
charity: water has capitalized on a group of millennials that we’ll call influencers. These millennials have influence over their social circles. When they get behind a cause, their friends follow. They have made a great impact with charity: water by creating their own fundraising campaigns. At the completion of a campaign, the donors receive updates and photos from the community benefiting from their efforts.
There are a few campaigns that have been effective for charity: water. One is for influencers to give up their birthdays. Instead of asking for gifts, they ask their friends to donate through their campaign page to charity: water. The influencers are also getting their kids involved in this type of giving. When Lory turned 6, he raised $2,386 by asking for people to donate $6! Another way these influencers have raised money is by doing “crazy” things. They set a fundraising campaign goal. When they reach the goal, they do their crazy thing that they committed to. The crazy thing could be running a marathon, getting a tattoo, climb a mountain, or even bungee jumping. charity: water encourages people to use their talents and their voice to bring clean water to those in need.
One of the biggest reasons donors decide to invest in charity: water is their commitment to use 100% of public donations towards the cause (100% model). They rely on private donors to cover their operation costs. While this methodology is not sustainable for most non-profits, charity: water has been able to reach the next generation of donors this way.
To cover their expenses, charity: water formed the Well program where young tech entrepreneurs and other wealthy individuals commit to donating $24,000/year for 3 years to pay for all of their operating costs.
Another aspect of charity: water that is unique to them is they did not spend any money on marketing in 2014. This means no ads, no unsolicited activity. They communicate with those who’ve opted in and let their influencers do the marketing for them. So how does charity: water move beyond the grassroots movement while maintaining their 100% model and not spending on marketing.
charity: water has done an effective job of marketing to millennials who are influencers and tech entrepreneurs, but there are thousands of other millennials yet to be engaged. These are the millennials who want to invest in making the world a better place, but don’t like to “pressure” their friends to participate. They also may not hold the same influence over their friends that the early adopters of charity: water exhibit. While charity: water makes setting up a campaign easy, these millennials want to give back without the extra activity.
charity: water can add to their marketing efforts by teaming up with Chipotle. The marketing campaign we are proposing is a limited edition yellow cup during the month of May on an annual basis for 3 years. The cup would have charity: water’s Jerry Can logo and similar branding messages of Chipotle’s but more specific to the efforts of charity: water. The cup would include a short story about the impact of clean water and an easy call to action to invest in charity: water. Each Chipotle would also have a couple yellow Jerry Cans in store to further communicate the message of bringing clean water to the world.
Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School and studies the science behind effective marketing. He describes in his book Contagious that the most influential marketing campaign happens from word of mouth. Berger has created a framework he calls STEPPS that guided us as we were creating this word of mouth campaign.
SOCIAL CURRENCY:
Chipotle has a limited edition yellow cup that will catch people’s attention. Whether it be students taking the cup back to school after lunch or the professional taking the cup back to the office people will notice that cool new yellow cup.
TRIGGERS:
The color yellow will be our trigger for charity: water. More specifically when people see the logo of the yellow canister there will be a connection to the charity. Another trigger will be the month selected to do this campaign. Since it only happens once a year people will begin to miss it and then remember it when the campaign returns annually. The timing of May is intentional because as summer is right around the corner people will associate the change of season and the end of the school year with the charity.
EMOTION:
Chipotle does a nice job of creating a captivating story on their cups currently. charity: water will share similar motivational stories on the sides of the cups. There will be a seamless integration here as it is already familiar to customer who have come to expect this type of marketing at Chipotle.
PUBLIC:
The nature of the cup being portable and being in a bright yellow color will help with exposure to mass markets. People will gravitate towards the cups with curiosity as it is something new from Chipotle.
PRACTICAL VALUE:
The messaging on the cup can be directed towards news that you can use. For example, a message could be sharing the impact of donating of $10 and how many lives it could impact.
STORIES:
There will be signage in the stores to the tell stories of charity: water and the campaign. Chipotle already does this in regards to their menu with no-gmo’s.
This new partnership with Chipotle will introduce charity: water to a larger audience. Those already familiar with charity: water will enjoy seeing them at one of their favorite restaurants. With an easy way to invest, charity: water will have new donors to communicate with. Chipotle is only the beginning of corporate partnership opportunities. Other potential partners include, Whole Foods and farm-to-table restaurants.